Originally Posted by DJ's left nut (Post 14040160)

I think the 'live and die with the rush' thing is starting to get a little overplayed now that Ron Parker isn't out there blowing coverage every other snap and Ward is giving us genuinely solid play at CB2.

There were definite coverage pressures against the Colts. And Sutton had his DBs sitting back and then driving on those short routes to screw up the timing patterns as well.

If the Patriots want to try to dink and dunk all day, they might have some success there but I think we've made personnel and schematic adjustments (made possible by said personnel adjustments) that can keep that from beating us if that's all they do. Where we might get gashed is by a double move or two but that's where the increased recovery speed from Lucas comes in and the Patriots can be hurt by their lack of deep speed now that Gordon's gone.

And Jones - man I loved the way he played Saturday. He was smart and disciplined. Played within himself and kept his responsibility seemingly every play. Nnadi was fantastic and Bailey was steady. I think the front can be run-responsible as well.

Now sometimes a good RB just makes yards and Michel is showing the ability to do that. And sometimes a fantastic pass-catching back creates big-time problems, James White qualifies. There are still some matchups where we might just get physically beat, but I don't think this defense is automatically a 1-trick pony, especially not at home.

If the Pats want to try to go full Ravens and run the ball while leaning on their short passing game, I think we have some ability to deal with that better than most expect. We won't skunk them, but I think we can keep them in the low 20s.

Originally Posted by Direckshun (Post 14040296)

I don't much care what offensive line you trot out there.

Brady reads blitzes very well, and the Chiefs have the best 1-2-3 punch in football.

Send Houston/Ford/Jones and dare the Pats to block them. No offensive line can.

Originally Posted by The Pest (Post 14040351)

Ward and Lucas have helped this defense immensely.

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut (Post 14040383)

Think about that 3rd and 8ish throw to Ebron in the (IIRC) mid-2nd. The Chiefs were up 14 or 17 at that point and Luck hit Ebron about 2 yards short of the sticks. If it's Scandrick/Parker that's an easy first but Ward him him hard and stood him straight up while the rest of the D rallied to the ball and finished the tackle off to force the punt. It was one of those plays that we've seen other teams make this year and though "c'mon guys - why the hell can't we do that? That's just effort..."

Ward put his nose in there and stopped a much larger man just long enough to let the cavalry get there and gang-tackle instead of getting dragged past the marker. It was textbook and it doesn't happen with the old personnel on the field.

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut (Post 14040160)

I think the 'live and die with the rush' thing is starting to get a little overplayed now that Ron Parker isn't out there blowing coverage every other snap and Ward is giving us genuinely solid play at CB2.

There were definite coverage pressures against the Colts. And Sutton had his DBs sitting back and then driving on those short routes to screw up the timing patterns as well.

If the Patriots want to try to dink and dunk all day, they might have some success there but I think we've made personnel and schematic adjustments (made possible by said personnel adjustments) that can keep that from beating us if that's all they do. Where we might get gashed is by a double move or two but that's where the increased recovery speed from Lucas comes in and the Patriots can be hurt by their lack of deep speed now that Gordon's gone.

And Jones - man I loved the way he played Saturday. He was smart and disciplined. Played within himself and kept his responsibility seemingly every play. Nnadi was fantastic and Bailey was steady. I think the front can be run-responsible as well.

Now sometimes a good RB just makes yards and Michel is showing the ability to do that. And sometimes a fantastic pass-catching back creates big-time problems, James White qualifies. There are still some matchups where we might just get physically beat, but I don't think this defense is automatically a 1-trick pony, especially not at home.

If the Pats want to try to go full Ravens and run the ball while leaning on their short passing game, I think we have some ability to deal with that better than most expect. We won't skunk them, but I think we can keep them in the low 20s.

Originally Posted by The Pest (Post 14040351)

Ward and Lucas have helped this defense immensely.

Originally Posted by Direckshun (Post 14041141)

I don't think any of us knew that when Veach made those moves at the start of the season that they'd help elevate our squad to legit Super Bowl favorite.

Originally Posted by MAHOMO 4 LIFE! (Post 14041207)

And people want Veach gone because Speaks sucks....

Originally Posted by KCtotheSB (Post 14041229)

I'm reaaaaaaaaaaalllly hoping that Ward and Lucas pan out.

They've played very well since coming in. I know guys like to give Ward a hard time for his first game vs Seattle, but I thought Wilson was tossing perfect throws against predominantly excellent coverage (particularly on there last drive).

I would argue that Baltimore's win over the LA Chargers in Week 16 enabled this secondary resurgence over the past few games. If the Chargers beat the Ravens, Reid might be more pressured into starting the known shitty veterans (Scandrick, Parker) vs Seattle and we'd never know what we had in Ward or Lucas. (We also wouldn't have the #1 seed also.)

It's still extremely early and all of this can still go to crap, but I feel better about our defense (especially at home) then I have at any other point this season.

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut (Post 14040329)

Boy it would sure be nice if we could yeoman's work from the men in the middle using Suttons preferred 2-4-5 looks...

I mean that's just perfect for what the Patriots would like to do IF you can get Nnadi/Jones firm up the gut while Houston/Ford maintained the edges. With a healthy DoD alongside Ragland, that formation would be awfully tough for the Patriots to have their way with unless they just pounded it up the middle.

And I suspect that's exactly what they'd try. So it would come down to how Nnadi and Jones held their ground and if they could do enough for the guys behind them to rally to the ball.

Originally Posted by Aspengc8 (Post 14041258)

Chiefs have been playing some really good 1 high physical man with a safety in the box now that parker/scandrick are not on the field as much. They will need to do that since NE will definitely try to run the ball out of both 21 and 31 personnel. If they can supply a 4 man pass rush and play tight man, it will be a long day for Brady. If Berry is good to go, having him in the box as a secure tackler would be huge for the run game. Trying to stop the run while playing a 2 high look is a death sentence. Your asking your dline to two-gap at that point.